Trophies
Guardiola leads comfortably. His 44 career titles span Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City – including three Champions Leagues, six Premier League titles and multiple trebles.
Mourinho is the only manager in history to win all three major UEFA club competitions – the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. His 26 titles across Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Roma place him among the most decorated managers of all time.
Context matters. Mourinho won the Champions League with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010 – both considered outsiders at the time.
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Best seasons
Guardiola’s 2017-18 Manchester City campaign remains the gold standard. City finished with 100 points – the first team in English top-flight history to reach three figures – scoring 106 goals and winning the title by a record 19-point margin.
Mourinho’s finest domestic season came at Chelsea in 2004-05. They conceded just 15 goals, kept 25 clean sheets and won the title by 12 points over Arsenal. It remains one of the most defensively dominant title-winning campaigns the Premier League has seen.
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Champions League
Guardiola is the fastest manager to 100 Champions League wins, reaching the milestone in just 160 matches. His three titles span three different clubs across three countries.
Mourinho’s two titles are fewer in number but arguably greater in context. Porto were rank outsiders in 2004. Inter became the first Italian side to complete the treble in 2010.
Their defining Champions League clash came in the 2009-10 semi-final. Mourinho’s Inter eliminated Guardiola’s Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate – Mourinho’s greatest tactical triumph over his rival.
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Where they stand now
Guardiola remains at Manchester City, currently pushing Arsenal to the final day of the Premier League title race.
Mourinho is in the midst of a title race with Benfica and is increasingly linked with the Real Madrid job this summer – a potential return to the club where their rivalry first reached its most ferocious peak.
Two of the greatest managers the game has produced. The debate is far from settled.
Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images
